Чистая вода и прекрасные горы

Глава 54

"Your Majesty, it has been about half an incense stick's time."

Hearing my voice, he peeked out from behind his teacup, glanced at me, and nodded, saying, "Are you new here? You look unfamiliar to me."

I nodded. "This servant, Yan Zheng, has only recently taken up my post. I was selected by the Eighth Prince during his recent trip south to recruit ladies for the palace."

"Ah. I've heard the Eighth Prince mention you. You are the illegitimate daughter of the Left Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Yangzhou. This time, the court is conscripting palace maids from the homes of officials. I had him pick a few clever ones to come before me. You seem to have won his favor."

His words were unintelligible. He could only obediently lower his head. "Eighth Prince said that once we enter the palace, we are serving the Emperor. Any favors we receive will come from the Emperor."

These words struck a chord with him. He nodded.

I looked up and cautiously examined him. I saw him rubbing the back of his shoulder with one hand, and gritting his teeth.

Seeing this, I quickly got up and gently massaged his shoulders. He was taken aback. He looked me over, a flicker of light in his eyes, before calmly turning back to the stack of memorials on the table.

There were soft footsteps outside the hall; I knew it was Eunuch Chang coming to urge the Emperor to make arrangements.

Just as Eunuch Chang was about to bow, he was suddenly startled and hurriedly scolded in a low voice, "You brat, are you out of your mind? How can you so easily touch the Emperor's precious body?"

Only then did I understand the hint of surprise in the emperor's eyes, and I carefully withdrew my hand.

The emperor smiled slightly, took a sip of tea, and said, "This girl's massage is quite comfortable."

My forehead was burning hot, so I quickly knelt down.

He smiled and waved his hand, "Get up."

I carefully changed the teacup and was about to serve it when I saw the Emperor frowning and suddenly throw the memorial in his hand to the ground.

I crouched down to pick it up, when I heard an angry shout, "Don't pick it up—"

I withdrew my hand, but the words on it seemed to be in Lu Xiu's handwriting.

"Chang Yongchun—get over here—" the emperor shouted.

The head eunuch stepped forward a few paces, "Your Majesty—"

"Tell Lao Ba to rewrite it and bring it up again. Make sure he's writing it while he's clear-headed."

"yes……"

Seeing Grandpa Chang walk out tremblingly, I really wanted to follow him, but I didn't know what the angry man in front of me meant.

"Your Majesty, the air is damp at night, so it's best not to get angry," I advised softly.

He glanced at me slightly and said, "Yan girl, do you think there are fathers in this world who complain about their sons?"

"Of course not."

"Are there sons who hate their fathers?"

I hesitated and looked at him. "No, not either."

He shook his head and gave a bitter laugh, "My sons are all outwardly friendly but inwardly distant."

I slowly raised my head, trying to see his expression clearly.

He frowned and pointed at the memorial on the ground. "Let's not even talk about that unfilial son who ran to Da Meng to challenge me. Just look at this Eighth Prince under my nose. He remembered something I did and has been giving me a black face for two years. I only asked him to handle two old cases of the remnants of the Rong family, but he just said that it was nothing important and told me to release the people first."

"Eighth Master is young and kind-hearted, so he naturally can't bear to give a heavy sentence for such a criminal case." I was just telling the truth.

"It seems..." The Emperor clenched his fist tightly, remaining silent.

Before dawn, he was preparing fragrant mushrooms in the incense room. After handing them to the nanny, he went directly to the kitchen to brew the emperor's morning tea with dew and prepare a hot towel. When he figured it was about time, he carried the tray to the Chaoyang Palace.

But then I saw Eunuch Chang come out of the East Hall and say to me, "His Majesty slept late and probably hasn't gotten up yet. Miss, please take some people to the side hall to serve the Prince in the morning."

"Did the princes stay overnight?"

"We discussed things with the Seventh Prince until the third watch of the night. It was too late, and the Emperor kept us overnight because he knew we had to attend court the next morning."

He felt his palms getting sweaty, and quickly curtsied and replied, "I'll go right away."

Another palace maid, Xiaoyu, and I waited at the door with hot water and towels. We only entered quietly when the prince's personal eunuch summoned us. We stood outside the screen and were about to put them down and turn to leave.

We heard the eunuch urging us, "Come in and help the prince wash and change his clothes."

Chang Gonggong served the emperor during his changing and washing. This was the first time he had received such service since entering the palace only a few days prior.

Xiaoyu and I carefully carried the basin inside. I stood at a distance with my head down, while Xiaoyu handed the teacup to the eunuch, then went up and knelt at his feet with the vessel in her hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man in the bright undergarments rinse his mouth and take the hot towel.

I dared not look up, nor even breathe. Just as I was thinking I could leave immediately, the little eunuch opposite me glared at me and said, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help the prince change his clothes."

My heart tightened, and I gritted my teeth as I walked up to him. Only then did he casually glance up at me, his eyes widening in surprise.

I walked up to him nonchalantly, only thinking about how to help him get dressed, but he didn't give me the chance to help him. Instead, he gently pulled me back.

“Raise your head.” His shocked gaze fell upon him, and his voice trembled slightly.

One hand gently grasped the other trembling hand, and she replied, "Your Highness, this servant dares not, for fear of offending Your Highness's eyes."

A moment of silence followed, until I felt a slightly trembling hand descend upon my head. The fingers lightly touched my hair bun, then gently slid down to my ear, pausing briefly. I still had confidence in this face; I was certain that Nangong's disguise was impeccable.

"...I pardon you, lift it up..."

The warmth of his fingers made me a little flustered for a moment, but I still tried my best to put on a calm smile and raised my head.

He was so calm and composed that at that moment, we seemed so far away, and everything in his eyes was distant and unattainable.

I stared into those deep eyes, my smile freezing, and softly said, "Has this servant offended Your Highness's eyes?"

He swayed slightly, then smiled calmly, "The voice and eyes are very similar..."

After saying that, her eyes suddenly became melancholy. She stopped looking at me and said softly, "Get up."

I breathed a sigh of relief and got up to help him put on his court robes.

Chapter Six of the Main Text: Fifth Master

Stepping out of the side hall, I realized that my face was deathly pale.

"You're new here, aren't you?" Xiaoyu looked at me with a smile. "I've never seen you this nervous even in front of the Emperor. You're so scared just from helping the Prince change his clothes. But Seventh Master is acting strangely today."

Looking at the woman in front of me, I felt that she had a bit of the delicate beauty of the south, with a soft voice and even her smile was so gentle.

"Have you been in the palace for a long time?"

"Two years isn't a long time. I used to work at Marshal Pang's residence. My tea and snack-making skills were appreciated by the Emperor, so the Marshal sent me to the palace." She didn't hide her background at all, speaking casually.

I smiled and nodded, but my goodwill towards the girl suddenly cooled down. It turned out she was a spy planted by Pang Shi in front of the emperor.

As was customary, the emperor would take a short nap at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), and at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), he would first summon the princes to the court to discuss state affairs.

As soon as I arrived outside Chaoyang Palace, I saw several maids carrying food trays standing guard there.

"What is this?" I asked.

"We summoned all the princes for a meeting early this morning, but the Emperor is still not awake. The princes are waiting in the side hall. The steward said to have some sweet porridge cooked for them. Would you like to see if the young lady would lead us in?"

I nodded. "You can follow me."

Having said that, they entered the main hall of Chaoyang and headed west towards the side hall. Through the curtains of the side hall, they could hear the voices of the princes discussing among themselves.

I stopped outside the curtain. I read aloud, "Your Highnesses, our steward has prepared sweet porridge on behalf of the Emperor. Shall we bring it in now?"

I had barely finished speaking when I noticed a sudden silence falling behind the curtains.

After a long while, Sixth Master chuckled. "Come in quickly. I came early and haven't even had a sip of water. My mouth is feeling tasteless right now."

I lifted the curtain and let the maids carrying porridge in. I walked at the very back.

When I first entered, I noticed several princes staring at me. I looked up, and they all lowered their heads, going about their own business.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the gentleman calmly holding a memorial in the corner, but then felt that it was inappropriate to look at him at this time. She didn't dare to look at him, afraid that if she saw him, her eyes would give her away.

I went up and divided the porridge on the table into nine bowls, adding rock sugar to each one and serving them to the gentlemen. Fourth Master preferred the thinner porridge, so I added more broth to it. Lu Li preferred the lighter porridge, so I only added one rock sugar.

He instructed several maids to serve the food to the gentlemen, and only after watching them drink it with relish did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as I was about to tell someone to clean up, Fifth Master suddenly looked up at me and smiled gently, "I was in a rush this morning and didn't have time to eat, so I'm still not full. Could I have another bowl?"

I answered, but when I turned around I realized there was only a little soup left. I managed to fill a bowl, but before I could hand it over, Sixth Brother snatched it from me, drank it down in a few gulps, wiped his sleeve and looked at Fifth Master with a smile, "Fifth Brother, you don't mind, do you? I have a big appetite."

Before he could finish speaking, the men burst into laughter, and even Lu Li, who was reading a memorial, coughed lightly with a chuckle.

A little maidservant leaned close to my ear and said, "Miss, the Emperor has woken up."

Upon returning to the East Hall of Chaoyang, the Emperor had already emerged from the inner chamber and sat directly at the table in the east wing of the hall, instructing, "Serve tea."

I carried the sweet porridge up to him and said, “Your stomach is empty right after you get up, so it’s not good to drink tea. I knew that Your Majesty was too busy to have breakfast, so I prepared sweet porridge. All the gentlemen in the West Side Hall have already eaten, so you should at least have a few bites.”

He brought it over, quickly handed the bowl over, and asked, "Are all the brothers here?"

"We've been waiting for almost half an hour."

“Go and bring in Lao Ba—” he paused, “No, bring in Lao Wu.”

Before long, the Fifth Prince Lu Min was summoned in.

The Emperor gestured for him to rise, saying, "The Rong family's cases have been dragging on and on. The Eighth Prince is deliberately making things difficult for me. I really can't do anything about him. So I'll transfer these cases to you. Do a good job, and I will reward you accordingly."

After that, the emperor took several more sons and gave them some minor instructions. But he did not summon Lu Xiu.

When I finally managed to sneak out, several princes were coming out one after another, preparing to go to the main hall for the morning court session.

The emperor was used to summoning his sons to discuss matters before the morning court session, so most of these princes would arrive before dawn. Sometimes, after receiving a lecture in the Chaoyang Hall on an empty stomach, they would have to go to the main hall to continue being criticized as important civil and military officials. It was really not easy for the princes.

I followed behind, keeping an eye on Lu Xiu. He and Lu Li were walking north. I thought I couldn't go too far, so I coughed lightly. To my surprise, the two people in front of me stopped and turned around to look at me.

I gritted my teeth, walked up to him, and stared at Lu Xiu without saying a word.

Lu Li looked at Lu Xiu, then at me, and simply said, "Eighth Brother, I'll be waiting for you up ahead."

As I walked further and further away, Lu Xiu glared at me with a smile and said softly, "You really know how to kick your man away in front of your lover."

I glared at him. "I had no idea when you became Eighth Master's mistress."

Lu Xiu just laughed and said, "Fine, can't I even get a verbal advantage?"

"You just went straight to the main hall for the morning court?! I did bring you something cheap." I took out a warm jujube cake from my sleeve and stuffed it into his sleeve. "I know that little bit of soup won't fill your stomach."

He quickly pulled up my sleeve, "You did this for?"

Before I could answer, he laughed and said, "I'm not the only one who hasn't eaten. Seventh Brother is too."

"We haven't gotten to the important stuff yet, so stop having fun."

"What important matter is it?"